Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville (US: JAK-sən-vil) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city consolidated in 1968. It is the tenth-most populous U.S. city and the largest city in the Southeast, with a population of 949,611 at the official 2020 U.S. census. The Jacksonville metropolitan area, at over 1.76 million residents, is the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Florida and 38th-largest in the United States. City-county consolidation greatly increased Jacksonville's official population and extended its boundaries, placing most of Duval County's population within the new municipal limits; Jacksonville grew to 900 square miles (2,300 km2). It is the largest city by total area, land and water, in the contiguous United States. Jacksonville straddles the St. Johns River in the First Coast region of northeastern Florida, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) south of the Georgia state line (25 mi or 40 km to the urban core/downtown) and 350 miles (560 km) north of Miami. The Jacksonville Beaches communities lie along the adjacent Atlantic coast. The area was originally inhabited by the Timucua. During Spanish rule, several missions were established in the Jacksonville area; the most prominent locally was San Juan del Puerto on present-day Fort George Island, which served the Mocama Timucua. In 1564, the French founded the short-lived Fort Caroline near the mouth of the St. Johns River. During the brief period of British rule (1763–1783), a settlement developed at a narrow point on the river where cattle crossed, known as Wacca Pilatka to the Seminole and "Cow Ford" to the British. In 1822, a year after Spain ceded Florida to the United States under the Adams–Onís Treaty, in exchange for U.S. recognition of Spanish sovereignty in Texas, a platted town was established there and named for Andrew Jackson, the first military governor of the Florida Territory and the seventh president of the United States. Harbor improvements since the late 19th century have made Jacksonville a major military and civilian deep-water port. Its riverine location facilitates Naval Station Mayport, Naval Air Station Jacksonville, the U.S. Marine Corps Blount Island Command, and the Port of Jacksonville (JAXPORT), Florida's largest seaport by volume. Jacksonville's military bases and the nearby Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay form the third largest military presence in the United States. Significant factors in the local economy include services such as banking, insurance, healthcare and logistics. As with much of Florida, tourism is important to the Jacksonville area, particularly tourism related to golf with the PGA Tour headquarters located in nearby Ponte Vedra Beach. People from Jacksonville are known as Jacksonvillians and, informally, as Jaxsons or Jaxons (both derived from Jax, the shortened nickname for the city).

Infobox

Country

United States

State

Florida

County

Duval

Founded

June 15, 1822; 203 years ago (June 15, 1822)[a]

Incorporated

February 9, 1832; 193 years ago (1832-02-09)

Consolidated

October 1, 1968; 57 years ago (1968-10-01)

Named after

Andrew Jackson

• Type

Strong Mayor–Council

• Body

Jacksonville City Council

• Mayor

Donna Deegan (D)

• City Council

Members Ken Amaro (R)Mike Gay (R)Will Lahnen (R)Kevin Carrico (R)Joseph Carlucci (R)Michael Boyland (R)Jimmy Peluso (D)Reginald Gaffney Jr. (D)Tyrona Clark-Murray (D)Ju'Coby Pittman (D)Raul Arias (R)Randy White (R)Rory Diamond (R)Rahman Johnson (D)Terrance Freeman (R)Ron Salem (R)Nicholas Howland (R)Matt Carlucci (R)Chris Miller (R)

• Total

949,611

• Land

747.30 sq mi (1,935.49 km2)

• Water

127.16 sq mi (329.35 km2)

Elevation

3 ft (0.91 m)

• Estimate (2024)

1,009,833

• Rank

31st in North America10th in the United States1st in Florida

• Density

1,270.7/sq mi (490.63/km2)

• Urban

1,247,374 (US: 40th)

• Urban density

2,176/sq mi (840.1/km2)

• Metro

$129.095 billion (2023)

Demonyms

Jaxon, Jacksonvillian

Time zone

UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))

• Summer (DST)

UTC−4 (EDT)

ZIP Codes

32099, 32201–32212, 32214–32241, 32244–32247, 32250, 32254–32260, 32266, 32267, 32277, 32290

Area codes

904, 324

FIPS code

12-35000

GNIS feature ID

2404783

Website

City of Jacksonville

• Consolidated city–county

949,611